Toston
Trianthema portulacastrum · Desert horse purslane
- Names in the book
- Toston, Tag.; Alusiman, Ayam, Vis.
- Colours
- flowerpink, white
- Native range
- Tropics worldwide
- In the Philippines, per the book
- Very common in the rice fields. Blooms in January.
- Family
- Aizoaceae, filed in the book under Ficoideæ
- Printed as
- Trianthema monogyna, L. (T. obcordata, Roxb.; Portulaca toston and axiflora, Blanco.)
- Sources
- Page 134 on Project Gutenberg · Wikipedia
The plant today
Trianthema portulacastrum is a species of flowering plant in the ice plant family known by the common names desert horsepurslane, black pigweed, and giant pigweed. It is native to areas of several continents, including Africa and North and South America, and present as an introduced species in many other areas. It grows in a wide variety of habitat types and it can easily take hold in disturbed areas and cultivated land as a weed. This species is a host plant for the beet leafhopper (Circulifer tenellus).
Excerpt from “Trianthema portulacastrum” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Recorded in the Philippines
GBIF holds 42 records of this plant from the Philippines. The ones with map coordinates fall in 8 provinces: Metropolitan Manila (3), Bulacan (2), Rizal (2), Cebu (1), Ilocos Norte (1), Occidental Mindoro (1), Albay (1), South Cotabato (1).
Counts from GBIF occurrence records, October 2026. They include planted trees and garden plants, and a province with no records may only lack collectors.
What the 1901 book says
A historical record, quoted as printed. Doses and remedies here are not medical advice.
Uses
This plant is edible, the natives eating it boiled, fried or in salad. The root is cathartic and is used powdered.
Botanical Description.—A plant with prostrate stems, radiating branches. Leaves ensheathing the stem, opposite, oval, red-bordered, glabrous. Petioles with 2 stipules at the base and 2 small teeth near the middle. Flowers axillary, solitary, sessile. Calyx, 2 pointed sepals. Corolla, 5 oval petals. Stamens 15–20. Style simple. Seed vessels inversely pyramidal, dehiscence horizontal. Seeds numerous.
Recent research
The most cited papers since 2022 that name this plant in the title, pulled from Europe PMC in October 2026. Titles are the authors' own and the findings have not been reviewed here.
- Fabrication of chitosan and Trianthema portulacastrum mediated copper oxide nanoparticles: Antimicrobial potential against MDR bacteria and biological efficacy for antioxidant, antidiabetic and photocatalytic activities
- Identification of allergens in Artocarpus heterophyllus, Moringa oleifera, Trianthema portulacastrum and Syzygium samarangense
- Green synthesized cobalt nanoparticles from Trianthema portulacastrum L. as a novel antimicrobials and antioxidants